Let’s sprinkle some sparkle!

I have a new muse.

If you have been watching coverage of Milano Cortina 2026 (this year’s Winter Olympics), you’ll have seen that awards ceremonies are announced in French, English and Italian.

I have announced at several international sporting events, including at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where I was a French language announcer. The importance of meeting protocols while announcing awards ceremonies has been drilled into me – speak on cue, stick to script, and make sure your mic is on when speaking and off when not (that’s a big one)!

Watching Australian freestyle skier Jakara Anthony’s gold medal ceremony for the women’s dual moguls event, I saw a marvellous example of how we can meet these protocols while also infusing vitality, zest and meaning into the experience.

See for yourself.

This link takes you to Jakara’s Olympic medal presentation ceremony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0EMySQJ098

Go to 1:40 to watch the presentations to all 3 medalists, or fast forward to 4:00 to watch the gold medal presentation.

As you watch, pay attention to the Italian announcer. Compare his approach with that of the French and English announcers. Listen to how he ‘sprinkles some sparkle’ when introducing each medalist. He made me smile. In fact, he made me laugh out loud. Thanks to him, I noticed this ceremony. And I will remember it for much longer than others I have seen, or even announced.

I think vocational education and training needs more Italian moguls announcers. Like announcing Olympic ceremonies, when delivering accredited training and assessment, we must meet specified standards and protocols. But meeting these standards doesn’t mean that our training should be dull or lifeless. It’s the ‘sparkle we sprinkle’ throughout our training that gives it life and makes it work.

Little things go a long way. Things like responding promptly to questions, accepting feedback or requests when a student struggles to understand the material, or approaching assessment from the students’ perspective – these combine to create learning experiences that are purposeful, relatable, and memorable for our students.

So as we continue to embed the 2025 Standards for RTOs into our training and assessment practices, let’s remember why these standards exist. I think they remind us that VET should not just be about doing the least necessary to meet requirements. VET should be about sparkle – about inspiring, supporting and enabling our students to build better lives for themselves.

So, to the Italian moguls announcer from Milano Cortina 2026, thank you. You are now my muse. Magnifico!

Article written by Chemène Sinson

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